The Power Of Mistakes

Empower and protect your team by taking responsibility for failures and giving them credit for successes.

You need to give your team an environment that promotes growth. Don’t ever throw a team member “under the bus.” Not only will you stunt their development, but everyone else’s who witnessed it.

It’s “ok” for someone to make a mistake – assuming it wasn’t intentional. People learn from mistakes – theirs and others. If someone makes a mistake, let them have the confidence to own it and have the team learn from the mistake. If people feel compelled to hide their mistakes, the team is doomed to repeat them.

Think of mistakes as growth opportunities. Why is flying on an airplane so safe? Because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) thoroughly investigates every crash, minor accident, or mishap that occurs – even if it’s “just” two planes bumping into each other at the terminal – even a near miss. They get to the root cause of every incident and determine and take corrective actions. Every time this approach is taken in any industry, the service improves.

No one is perfect. Mistakes are inevitable. Use them to grow yourself and others.